Printing and blanking machine.



E. CRAIG.

PRINTING AND BLANKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29. I913.

1,289,679 Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. CRAIG.

PRINTING AND BLANKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29. 1913. 1 29,679 1 Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

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E. CRAIG. PRINTING AND BLANKING MACHINE;

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29. 1913.

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PRINTING AND BLANKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 29. I913.

1,289,679. Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

s'sHEETs-sman 4.

V dam/7. 951m E. CRAIG.

PRINTING AND BLANKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, I913.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

EDW ARD CRAIG, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T SARANACMACHINE COMPANY, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, A CORPORA'JPIOIIYI' OF MICHIGAN.

:eniznriue AND BLANKING MACHINE.

operating on sheet material, and more especially to machines which perform a plu-' rality of operations on the sheetyat diflercut points. in the path of travel -thereof,the sheet being fed from one operating-mechanisni to another.

Generally stated, the object oflmy invention is toprovide a" novel and highly efficient construction and arrangement for insuring a properfeed-ingof the sheet from one position to another, or from one operating mechanism to: another, without interfering with the characteristic of each mechanism.

Aspecial object is to providea construction whereby the sheet passes continuously and witl'iout interruption through a'printing machine, and intermittently through a blanking machine, the continuous feed at one point and the intermittent feed at another point in the path of travel of the sheet causing the latter to alternately buckle and straighten out between said points, that is between said machines,

It'is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general eificiency of a combination printing and blanking machine of this particular character.

To these and other useful ends, my invention consists in matters hereinafter'set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a side'elevation of a combined printing and blanking machine embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the right hand'portion of said machine.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of that portion of the machine shown in Fig. 3, with certain portions broken away to show the feed mechanism. I

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, showing one of the spring backed devices for stop- P g h m tion of th h y downwa d Specification of Letters Patent.

Machines,

Fig. 8 is a perspective of one of the mode of operationr temea Dec. a1, 1918.

Application fil ed September 29, 1913. Serial No. 792,244.

pressure thereon, to enable the cutting and scoring head to operate on said sheet.

Fig.16 is an enlarged plan of the cutting and scoring table upon which the sheet rests during the blanking operation.

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 in Fig. 6.

blanks.

As thus illustrated, my invention comprises a printin press A of any suitable character, provi ed with means for printing on the sheet of paper B, as the latter travels, continuously to the right. This uninterrupted feeding movement of the sheet is produced by upper and lower feed rolls 0 and C between which the paper moves along.' These feed rolls are operated by a train of gears D, whereby said rolls have the requisite speed. The blanking machine E is arranged to receive the sheet of paper B, and'comprises a table 0 upon which the paper rests while being operated upon. The reciprocating head e is provided with cutting and scoring blades of any suitable character, and arranged in any suitable manner, depending upon the character of the blanks. Preferably, the table 6 is made of iron or steel, and is provided with a soft upper layer e formed by plating copper on to the table, the coating being made thick to serve the desired purpose. This copper layer is provided with grooves e for the edges of the blades on the head, whereby the'paper is both out and scored.

The grooves for the cutting knives are made by cutting the copper away to expose the surface 'of the table, whereby the cutting knives come down on the hard metal, thus severing the paper; but the rooves for the scoring blades are narrow an cooperate with the said blades to simply score or crease the sheet material. This copper plate e serves, therefore, as a substitute for the brass plates heretofore fastened to the surface of the table to form the grooves for the scoring blades. The said brass plates necessitated the drilling of the steel table, which was expensive and unsatisfactory in other ways; With'the copper plating, however, no drilling is necessary, and the construction of the table is less expensive. As shown, the blanks produced are of theshape shown in Fig. 8, but may be of any desired character.

At the ba e of the machine, a Sh ft i reason which will hereafter appear.

. upper rOll e is movable up and down, in any suitable or desired manner. A lever e is pivoted on the machine frame at e, one at each side, and the slides e of the head are provided with adjustable screws 6 for engaging said levers, when the head moves downward. Adjustable stop screws 6. are also mounted on the frame to limit the movement of said levers and to determine the nor- 'mal position thereof. Links 6 connect the outer ends of levers 6 with the ends .of the upper roll a", springs 6 being provided for normally holding the roll down. When the head e moves down, the screws a strike the levers 6 and the roll 6 is thereby lifted; This occurs at the proper time to interrupt the feed of the rolls'e and 6 whereby these rolls are inoperative while the head is operating on the paper. During this time, however, the paper is traveling through the printing press A, and is buckling up as shown at Y) in Fig. 1. It is to eliminate this buckle, when the roll e again engages the paper, that the feed of the rolls 6 and e is faster than the feed motion produced by the rolls C and C as previously stated.

In order that the motion of the paper may be stopped before the blades of the head reach the upper surface of the paper, the

' latter is provided with plungers F, which are yieldingly held down by springs f, whereby each plunger acts as a bumper to yieldingly engage the paper. This stops the movement of the paper, and the head 6 then operates on the paper.

After the sheet has passed below the blanking head, the blanks are fed forward by the upper and lower rolls G and G which latter are driven by a train of gears 1 the rolls 6 and 6 whereby the feed is the g, preferably at the same rate of speed as same at each side of the blanking head. The upper roll G is moved up and down by the links 9 which are connected with the levers g pivoted on the frame. These levers are operated by the lugs g on the side portions of the vertically reciprocating cutter head 9 which latter is operated by links'g connected at their lower ends with the eccentrics 9 These eccentrics are operated by the train of gears g. and the reciprocation of the head 9 causes the roll G to move up and down, thereby intermittently interrupting any suitable g for cutting of the blanks, and the sev-v ered portions of the sheet are moved forward quickly by the feed rolls 9 and 9 As shown, the roll 9 is mounted on the head 3}, and the roll 9 is driven by the gears g, in manner. Thus each time the roll 9 comes down the severed end portion of the sheet is thrown out by the action of the roll 9, the detached portion of the sheet falling into a tray Hor other suitable receptacle.

It will be seen that the continuous feeding motion of the sheet through the printing press is converted into an intermittent motion by the blanking machine. Each time the sheet stands still in the blanking machine, the portion between the two machines buckles up, as at b, and the slack portion or accumulation then disappears as Soon as the sheet is given another increment of motion under the blanking head. Thus the sheet. alternately buckles and straightens out during the operation of the machinery as a whole. In other words, the sheet accumulates between the printing machine and blanking machine, each time the sheet stands still in the second'machine, whereby the continuous operation of the first machine is not interfered with in any manner whatsoever. When the second machine relieves the sheet, the latter then feeds forward at a speed which results in the complete elimination of the buckle or slack portion between the two machines. Approximately at the time the sheet is straightened out, the feeding action of the second machine is again interrupted, and the blanking head'then acts on the new portion of the sheet.

I do not limit myself to the particular construction shown and described, nor to the use of my invention for printin or blank ing. Obviously, it may be use for other purposes.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the position of the eccentric shaft 6 is such that the blanking head e is at the limit of its upward movement. As shown in Fig. 3 the said head is moving downward, and the clamps or plungers F will strike the paper first, thereby stopping the movement of the paper at or a little before the latter is engaged by the cutting and scoring knives of the head. Thus means are provided for stopping the paper without interrupting the continuousfeed of the paper from the rotary printing press, in the manner explained.

It will be understood, of course, that the sheet 6 is a long flexible sheet of material, suitable for the manufacture of the blanks to be made by the machine. In connection with printing-presses, a sheet of this kind, which travels through a printing-press, is sometimes referred to as the web, and it may be so regarded her and by the t rm sh et it will be understood that this means the socalled web, or any flexible strip of sheet mawhich is illustrative of the invention, it will be seen that the rolls 6 and e constitute an intermittent feeder, which is associated with the yielding pressure element F, at a point between the-printing-press A and the blanking-press E, so that the sheet or web is pushed intermittently into the blanking press. At the other side of the blanking press, the rolls G and G constitute another intermittent feeder topull the sheet or Web away from the blanking press. As shown and described, the yielding pressure element F is carried by the vertically reciprocating head of the blanking press, but it will be understood that this clamping device can be arranged in any suitable or desired manner to engage one surface of the sheet or web,

and that any suitable means can be employed in opposition to this pressure element, by engaging the other surface of the sheet or web, so that the sheet will be clamped between the yieldin element and the opposing means. With this construction, therefore,

- the sheet or web is intermittently stationary in the intermittent feeder, but is never stationary in the continuous feeder comprising the rolls C and C, during the operation of the combined printing and blanking press. While the cutter is shown in position to act on the sheet after the latter passes between the rolls G and G it will be understood that this cutter for successively severing the blanks from the sheet, after the latter has passed successively thlIOUgll the printing operation and the buckling operation and the blanking operation, may be arranged and operated in any suitable or desired manner, and that any suitable means can be employed as a cutter to do this work.

T he invention is not limited to the exact construction shown and described.

It will be observed, of course, that with the foregoing construction the sheet passes continuously through the printing press it, so that stoppage of the sheet in the printing press is avoided, but at the same time the sheet is advantageously and desirably stopped in the blanking press for the operation of the latter thereon. Also, it will be seen that the buckle b in the sheet is upward, and that with this mode of operation the buckle or slack thus formed in the sheet tends of its own accord, and by reason of its weight, to sag or fall as soon as the sheet is released by the clamping devices F, so that it tends in this way to of its own accord jump ahead toward the blanking press, in addition to the positive feeding action of the intermittent feed mechanism comprising the rolls e and e", and this jump feed action, as it may be termed, is also accelerated 0r accentuated by the resiliency of thesheet itself. In other words, and even without the rolls (2 and e", a sheet of paper or cardboard, such as that used in making the blanks, would have a tendency to jump forward toward the blanking press as soon as released by the clamping devices F, because the sheet when thus fed horizontally has a tendency to flatten as soon as it is released; but these feed rolls, of course, are depended upon to make the action positive and to cause the sheet to feeda predetermined distance into the blanking press. In this way, therefore, the buckle or upward bulge b rises from the horizontal table a across which it is fed, and

.is then flattened by the rollers e and (-1,

either entirely or partially, so that it flattens or tends to flatten each time the sheet feeds forward into the blanking press.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination of (1) a printingpress, (2) a blanking press, (3) an intermittent feeder between said printing-press and said blanking press to intermittently feed a sheet from the one to the other, so that the sheet is pulled away from the printing press and pushed into said blanking press, and whereby the sheet is stationary in said feeder at intervals to permit the blanking press to operate thereon, and (4) means to operate the blanking press on the sheet delivered thereto from said intermittently acting feeder.

2. A machine as specified in claim 1, and- (5) a continuous feeder between said printing-press and said intermittent feeder, so

that the sheet alternately buckles and flat tens between the two feeders, and said printing-press operating continuously on the constantly moving portion of the sheet.

3. A machine as specified in claim 1, and (5) clamping means to automatically clamp the sheet in a horizontal plane between the printing-press and the blanking press to hold the sheet stationary during the operation of said blanking press thereon.

4:. A machine as specified in claim 1, and (5) a second intermittent feeder to pull the sheet straight through from the blanking press and the first intermittent feeder.

5. A machine of the class described, adapted for performing successive operations on a sheet, at difi erent points in the path of travel thereof, comprising feed mechanism for continuously feeding a sheet away from the first operation to the subsequent opera tion thereon, so that the sheet is not stopped for the firstoperation, and means for converting the continuous movement of the sheet each time said subsequent operation is performed thereon, a rotary lutermltte-nt feeder associated with said yielding pressure element, and a blanking press arranged to re ceive the sheet which is pushed thereto from said intermittent feeder.

6. A machine of the class described, adapted for performing successive operations on a sheet. at different points in the path of travel thereof, comprising feed mechanism for continuously feeding a sheet away from the first operation to the subsequent operation thereon, so that the sheet is not stopped for the first operation, and means for converting the continuous movement of the sheet into an intermittent motion, causing the sheet to alternately buckle and flatten after leaving said mechanism, said means including a yielding pressure element and means cooperating with said element to intermittently clamp the sheet against movement each time said subsequent operation is performed thereon, and a blanking press ar- I ranged to receive the sheet directly from said element to perform said subsequent operation.

7. A structure as specified in claim 1, and (5) a device associated with said intermittent feeder to automatically clamp the sheet stationary each time said feeder is inoperative to feed the sheet.

8. A structure as specified in claim 1, and a cutter for successively severing the blanks from said sheet.

9. In combination with a machine for performing an operation on a sheet, feed mechanism for continuously feeding the sheet horizontally toward the machine, and devices for converting the continuous movement of the sheet into an intermittent motion, causing the sheet to alternately buckle and jump ahead after leaving said mechanism and before reaching said machine, by bulging upward and then flattening downward, said devices including a yielding pressure element and means cooperating therewith at a point on the sheet between said mechanism and said machine to intermittently clamp the sheet against movement, with the sheet held straight between said devices and said machine, so that the sheet is held stationary in said machine each time an operation is performed by said machine thereon.

10. A structure as specified in claim 9, said devices also including feed rolls disposed between said mechanism and said element to feed the sheet faster than said mechanism and to straighten out the sheet and to push the sheet into said machine.

11. A structure as specified in claim 9, said devices also including feed rolls disposed between said mechanism and said element, to push the sheet intermittently into said machine, and means to lift the upper feed r011 and maintain it in raised position while the sheet is held statlonary by said element.

12. A structure as specified in claim 9, said speed, and said devices also including feed rolls disposed between said mechanism and said machine and operating faster than said mechanism to straighten out the sheet.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a blanking press having a vertically reciprocating head, continuously acting feed rolls to feed a sheet of material horizontally toward the blanking press, so that the sheet will buckle upward during each pressure of said reciprocating head thereon, anda continuously operated intermittent feed device disposed between said feed rolls and said blanking press to flatten the sheet after each upward displacement thereof.

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a blanking press having a vertically reciprocating head, continuously operating feed rolls to feed a sheet of material toward the blanking press, so that the sheet will buckle during the pressure of said reciprocating head thereon, an intermittent feed device disposed between said feed rolls and' said blanking press to straighten out the sheet, and means operated by i said reciprocating head to yieldingly grip the sheet at a point between said blanking press and said intermittent feed device.

15. A structure as specified in claim 13, and means to receive the sheet of material from said blanking press and serving intermittently to perform an operation thereon each time the sheet bulges upward.

16. The combination of a continuously operating rotary feed mechanism for continuously feeding a sheet of material, a continuously operating rotary feed mechanism for intermittently feeding said sheet, a blanking press to operate on the sheet, the intermittent feed mechanisms being disposed between the continuous feed mechanism and said blanking press, devices to clamp the sheet between said intermittent feed mechanism and said blanking press, so that the sheet will buckle after leaving the first feed mechanism and before reaching the second feed mechanism, each time the sheet is held stationary by said devices, power-transmitting connections whereby the intermittent feed mechanism is operated at higher speed than said continuous feed mechanism, and means to support said continuous feed mechanism and said intermittent feed mechanism in operative relation to each other and to said blanking press and in such a position that the sheet will buckle upward and so that the sheet when released by said devices will tend of itsown accord to jump forward toward the blanking press while being posimech tively fed forward by the intermittent feed anism.

17. A structure asspecified in claim 16, and a continuously operating printing press through which the sheet is fed to said continuous feed mechanism, so that the sheet passes continuously at uniform speed through said printing press, but intermittently through said blanking press.

18. A feeding mechanism for feeding a sheet of material, comprising means to continuously feed the sheet, devices to intermittently stop the sheet, and means to support the sheet in position to buckle upward between said means and said devices, each and intermittent feed time the sheet is clamped by said devices, so that when released the sheet has a tendency to flatten and to jump forward of its own accord.

19. A structure as specified in claim 18,

mechanism for positively feeding the portion of the sheet which has the said tendency to jump forward each time the sheet is released by said devices.

- Signed by me at St. Joseph, Michigan, this 18th day of Sept, 1913.

EDWARD CRAIG. Witnesses:

FRED A. POTIER, (has. A. TRUHN. 

